Chapter 318

"Chen Yan, your calculations are truly beautiful!"

"I will absolutely not let you succeed!"

Chang De heard this and suddenly sprang up from the ground; the chains clanked, and the last bit of clarity in his eyes was torn apart by extreme fear and anger.

He finally figured out the true intention of this bastard coming to the prison to visit him in person...

Using his "suicide" to put the final seal on that blood letter.

Completely making that blood letter a sharp blade to stab Big Brother Dugu!

What a vicious intention!

Even if he, Chang De, were to die from torture, he would never fulfill this bastard's wish!

"Marquis, you have forgotten the words this Mirror Master just said to you again..."

Chen Yan looked at the incredibly agitated Dingxiang Marquis, shook his head lightly, and repeated: "This Mirror Master has always liked to have two plans!"

As he spoke, he held up two fingers.

Since Chen chose to tell the Marquis everything without reservation, of course he calculated that he couldn't cooperate...

Naturally, he had made full preparations!

Chang De looked at the calmness in Chen Yan's eyes, where everything was under control, narrowed his eyes, and asked in a deep voice: "What have you done again?"

He just felt inexplicably that a chill was being poured down from the top of his head...

Chen Yan suddenly leaned forward, his right hand wrapped around his chest, his fingertips tapping his chin, the playfulness in his eyes like honey-soaked poison: "Marquis, do you feel your body becoming increasingly weak and powerless?"

He said slowly, his gaze sweeping over Chang De's slightly trembling legs: "For example... chest tightness? Numb fingertips? Or feeling like you have no strength in your whole body?"

In his words, there was nothing but playfulness.

Chang De was stunned. Reminded by him, he realized that his limbs were indeed a bit sore and weak. The strength he had just used to spring up seemed to have been drained away, and even his breathing was heavier than usual.

He subconsciously clenched his fists, only to find that the strength in his fingertips was far less than before, and even the weight of the iron chains felt exceptionally strenuous.

"You..." Chang De's heart tightened, as if realizing something, and he said in surprise, "You poisoned the roast chicken and shochu just now?!"

An unexpected yet reasonable guess was blurted out.

Immediately, his gaze fell on the fragments of the wine jar on the ground.

"That's right!"

Chen Yan smiled indifferently and admitted it as a matter of course: "You already knew that this Mirror Master wouldn't be that kind..."

"Otherwise, why would I come to send you such delicious wine and food?"

As he spoke, he shrugged nonchalantly.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in the world...

If there was no purpose, would Chen be that bored?

"But didn't you drink quite a bit yourself?" Chang De was stunned for a moment, and after some thought, asked in confusion.

Chang De clearly remembered that this Mingjing Si Mirror Master had also used a bowl to drink the wine, and had even drunk it to the last drop...

"Chang De, I just praised you for being smart!"

Chen Yan smacked his lips, the playfulness in his eyes almost overflowing, and the corners of his mouth curled into an undisguised mockery: "Can't this Mirror Master take the antidote beforehand?"

You say this person has a brain, but he can't think of this...

You say this person has no brain, but he can see through the role of the "blood letter"...

Truly a magical creature!

"Hahahaha!"

Chang De heard this and laughed at himself. The laughter squeezed out from the depths of his throat, dry like an old bellows.

He slumped on the cold stone bricks, his limbs too weak to lift any strength, and could only let that feeling of powerlessness completely wrap around him, the bitterness in his laughter almost dripping out.

"You are indeed much more formidable than I imagined..." He laughed until his shoulders trembled, and tears slid down the corners of his eyes, mixing with the undried blood on his face, forming a wretched mess.

Chang De looked down at his own limp hands; these hands had held swords and official documents, but now they couldn't even clench into a fist.

At this moment, he could only be at the mercy of others...

"Chang De, I hope you like this way of dying..."

Chen Yan stepped forward, leaned down, and picked up half a wine jar fragment from the ground; the edge was as sharp as a knife and still stained with some residual wine.

Immediately, the shadow instantly enveloped Chang De, who was slumped on the ground.

Chang De only felt a chill on his wrist, and before he could react, he was gripped by a force, and the sharp fragment had already sliced fiercely into his flesh.

With a light "shredding" sound, fresh blood gushed out, dripping down his wrist onto the stone bricks, blooming into one dark red flower after another.

Chang De's pupils constricted, and a rattling sound came from his throat, but he didn't even have the strength to struggle.

He could only watch helplessly as his blood flowed more and more, the pain in his wrist gradually numbing, and his body began to grow cold.

The fresh blood dripped down his fingertips, gathering into a small pool on the ground.

"I didn't expect that I, who have killed countless people in my life, would end up in such a state..."

Chang De's vision gradually blurred, and only his own increasingly weak breathing remained in his ears...

A sighing finale.

"You Xian, leave the remaining cleanup work to you..." Chen Yan stuffed the wine jar fragment into Chang De's other hand, looked outside the prison, and ordered.

"As you command."

You Xian walked in from outside and bowed in response.

"Let's go!"

Chen Yan glanced at the Marquis who had lost all signs of life on the ground, turned and walked out of the cell, followed by Zhu Yi and Yuwen Ze, who had also witnessed the whole process outside.

The blue brick floor was covered with a thin layer of frost, which crunched when stepped on, like crushing ice shards all over the ground.

Several old locust trees had shed all their leaves, and their bare branches stretched toward the gray sky like claws. The tips of the branches were still hung with unmelted residual snow, which fell with a rustle whenever the wind blew.

The Mirror Master's main hall was warm, the charcoal brazier against the wall was burning brightly, and sparks occasionally popped, illuminating the edges of the "Clear Observation of Autumn Hair" plaque hanging on the beam.

After standing still, Yuwen Ze finally couldn't help but ask: "Brother, I have a confusion in my heart that I can't understand..."

"Brothers of the same family, why be hesitant? Ask whatever you want to ask..." Chen Yan smiled indifferently and said, "Brother will clear your confusion!"

"Others act so ruthlessly, and all end up with a bad reputation..." Yuwen Ze asked the confusion that had lingered in his heart for a long time after some wording. "But Brother's prestige is growing day by day, and you are respected, loved, and revered by the people!"

Chen Yan pointed to the thick-felt stool in the hall and said in a calm and gentle voice: "Come, sit!"

"Yes." Yuwen Ze nodded, responded, and sat down.

"A Ze, do you remember the test I gave you on the way to Jingzhou?" Chen Yan walked slowly to the main seat and sat down. The green porcelain teacup on the desk was still steaming. His slender fingers gripped the ear of the cup, lifted it gently, took a sip, and asked with a smile.

"I remember!" Yuwen Ze's eyes were burning, and he replied without any hesitation, "Brother asked me why Emperor Wen of Han could sit steadily in the world and be called the teacher of all ages..."

Chen Yan nodded with satisfaction, put down the teacup, and asked unhurriedly: "Then A Ze, tell your brother, how do later generations evaluate the character of Emperor Wen of Han?"

He looked up at this younger brother, his gaze appearing exceptionally profound in the firelight of the charcoal brazier.

Yuwen Ze heard this, thought for a moment, and replied: "Benevolent, generous, the Grand Historian praised him as 'virtue is at its peak, is it not benevolent'..."

"Ban Gu also praised him in the Book of Han, 'virtue is as thick as heaven and earth, and benefits are bestowed upon the four seas'!"

He cited classics at will, mentioning various praises for Emperor Wen of Han in history books.

"That's right!"

Chen Yan chuckled and sighed: "To be evaluated by the world as benevolent, Emperor Wen of Han's mastery of 'thick-black' studies must have reached its peak!"

In Chen Yan's view, Emperor Wen of Han was just a Han Founding Emperor without the spirit of a hero.

A pure political animal!

"Hmm?" Yuwen Ze blinked, quite confused.

Chen Yan exhaled a turbid breath, tapped the table with his knuckles, and asked: "A Ze, do you know how Emperor Wen of Han's four direct sons and his queen before ascending the throne died?"

At that time, on the way to Jingzhou, he had deliberately left this hand...

Yuwen Ze heard this, thought for a moment, frowned, and shook his head: "History books have no record..."

"Even no one knows the surname of his wife! And there was no posthumous title!"

The words fell.

Yuwen Ze only felt that the warmth of the charcoal fire carried a chill, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on the back of his neck.

Thinking about it, it was terrifying.

Nine times out of ten, this wife was Empress Lü's niece, surnamed Lü!

The murderer was probably Emperor Wen of Han himself...

(It wasn't written in history books, and no one said Emperor Wen of Han had changed history books; the other Taizong should really learn from him.)

"And his son, Emperor Jing of Han, was obviously much worse..." Chen Yan curled the corners of his mouth playfully and smiled. "He caused a bunch of messes and ended up with a reputation for being cold and ungrateful!"

"But what his son did, which one didn't Emperor Wen of Han do?"

The same thing, done by different people, has different effects...

"It seems that is indeed the case..." Yuwen Ze nodded, agreeing deeply.

Chen Yan smiled indifferently, his gaze sweeping across the flying snow outside the window, and said: "Emperor Jing of Han smashed the Prince of Wu's heir to death and forced his son to death; Emperor Wen of Han alone had four sons die!"

"And he took his wife with him!"

"Emperor Jing of Han cut his teacher Chao Cuo in half at the waist; Emperor Wen of Han forced his own uncle to death!"

"Emperor Jing of Han forced the meritorious minister Zhou Yafu to death; that Zhou Yafu's father, Zhou Bo, had even greater merits, pacified the Han and executed the Lü clan, and supported Emperor Wen of Han, yet he was still dismissed from his position and imprisoned; he just had a thick skin and didn't commit suicide!"

"Among the three generations of Wen, Jing, and Wu, only Emperor Wen of Han had the most brilliant methods!"

"He could govern people and still get a good reputation!"

"I have been taught!" Yuwen Ze stood up, bowed, and cupped his hands.

Emperor Wen of Han was too far away and already dead, but he had a brother he could learn from.